Mannix--fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice--ain't gonna happen

In 2002, when Mannix opposed Ted Kulongoski for the governor’s chair, he said he’d reduce government spending without cutting services. Not quite possible, it turned out.

In 2003, as Republican Party chairman, he criss-crossed the state touting a "secret plan" for rescuing Oregon’s budget. When the secret was out, it became clear no real plan existed.

Now we come to 2006. Mannix, in a race to unseat Kulongoski, explained this month to a property-rights group that as governor he’d deal with the problems he sees with Oregon land-use laws by telling the state’s Land Conservation and Development Commission, "I won’t fund LCDC unless we reform the law."